Tension device for embroidering-machines.



W. A. WHITE & E. KELLER. TENSION DEVICE FOR EMBROIIDERING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 20,1914.

1,1 24,827. Patented Jan. 12,1915.

I WILLIAM ALBERT"'WH ITE AND EUGENE W. KELLER, OF NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY. l

TENSION DEVICE non nivrnnornnnllve-meonrnns.

1,12%,827. Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jam g 3 Application filed June 20, 1914. Serial No. 846,226. 1 1

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we,lV1LLIAM A. /Vrrrrn and EUGENE TV. KELLER, citizens of the United States, and both residents of North Bergen, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tension Devices for Embroidering-flaohines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to einbroidering machines, and our improvements have particular reference to the means whereby the tension on those threads whose needles are rendered inoperative to change the repeat of the embroidery design, or for other purposes in the operation of the machine, may be relaxed to prevent feeding of thread to said inoperative needles.

Our improvements further relate to means for re-applying the thread tension which has been relaxed.

WVith these and other objects in view our invention consists of a number of individual thread tension devices between the thread spools and the needles they supply, vices having a common support, with which they operate in unison, accompanied by means whereby any one or more of said tension devices may be disconnected from said support to halt feeding of thread to the particular needle or needles they supply, and which may have been thrown out of operative arrangement, or disabled; also with means for instantly reconnecting said tension device or devices with said support to resume the thread feeding operation.

In carrying out this invention we a shaft upon which are mounted a number of friction, devices, such as disks or wheels, the periphery of each one having wrapped therearound a single thread, each disk or wheel serving as a separate tension device between a spool and the needle it supplies, because all of said disks or wheels are normally clutched to the shaft, and said shaft, although rotatable in its bearings, being suitably retarded or braked in its rotation to keep the thread taut and prevent overthrow from the spools.

The shaft has one of more longitudinal grooves, and each individual friction device, on the shaft, has a separate clutch in the form of a spring pressed pivotal dog or pawl, which normally engages in a groove to thereby connect said deviceto said shaft,

said deprovide whereby the intermittent thread feed in the rec procatmg action of the needle bar,'exer- (181mg draft upon all said friction" devices together, thereby rotates the shaft and draws the' requisite quotas of thread from the spools.

Each friction device is mounted upon a separate sleeve, the shaft extending a loosely through said sleeves and the sleeves being supported in fixed relation to the I Shaft.

Each friction device is capable of both;

axial and rotating movement upon its sleeve,

and the clutch upon a friction device can only engage the groove in] the shaft when said'friction device is shiftedtoward one end of said sleeve and rotated to bring said clutch into radial opposition thereto. Upon axial retraction of said friction device the clutch rides up upon the surface of the sleeye thereby disconnecting the friction devlce from the shaft to render said device idle. The shaft may have a number of Iongitudinal grooves to reduce the extent of rotation of the friction device necessary'to permit engagement of the clutch.

Other features and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the drawing accompanying this application; Figure 1 is a diagrammatic viewrepresenting in vertical section a needle carrying bar with needle holder and needle, to gether with a spool and a friction wheel or disk between sa1d bar and spool. Fig. '2 is a section through the shaft carryingthe.

friction disks or wheels, and Fig. 3 ma front section view of two of the friction disks or wheels mounted on the shaft.

Since our present improvements are directed mainly to the tension devices for the thread feed we have illustrated herein only those associated-parts which co-act there with and have not deemed it necessary to show other parts of an embroidering machine, thegeneral construction thereof being unchanged by us and known to those skilled in the art.

live have however shown a needle bar, as

1, which as usual is movable to and from the work, and which carries a number of needle holders, as 2, (one only being shown in Fig. 1) the general character of said holders corresponding with that related in our. co;

pending application September 4th, 1913, the holder having a retracting spring 3, a spring held catch 1,

Serial No. 7 88180, filed 1 whose hub 12 is shorter than said sleeve, said holders, the rotation of said shaft being re tarded as by brake 8. v y Spaced along said shaft 6, in fixed relation thereto, and having supports 9,. are a series of short sleeves l0, and mounted on each, of said sleeves is a disk, or wheel 11,

disk or wheel, by means of its hub, being capable of both axial and rotary movement upon said sleeve, its axial movement inone directionbeing limited by thesleeve sup-. port .9.

T he shaft 6 is provided with a number of longitudinal grooves 13, four of such grooves, equi-spaced apart, shown, and a dog or pawl 1.4, pivoted in ears 15 extending from the hub 12, is adapted when the disk or wheel 11 is shifted along the sleeve 10. t0 its free edge to be pressed into one of saidgrooves by a spring 16, that lies between the tail 17 or pawl and the disk or wheel.

The disk or wheel 11 shownat the right 7 of Fig. 3 represents thedog or pawl in engagement with a groove in the shaft, thereby effectingclutchengagement between the disk or wheel and the shaft.

The other disk or ,wheel shown in Fig. 3 is represented as shifted away from the free edge of the sleeve, whereby the dog or pawl has been cammed over the sleeve, being thus disengaged from the groove in the shaft and lying idle on the surface of said, sleeve,

whereby the disk or wheel is disconnected from the shaft and incapable of drawing thread from its spool, as 18, in the continued rotation of shaft 6.

In thus rendering a disk or wheel inoperative the attendant may at the time whena needle holder is retracted, grasp the disk or wheel, fronrwhich thread passes. to said holder, and shift it to the inoperative position, either pressing upon the tail 17 of the dog or pawhor not, as the latter willileave the groove easily under the pressure exerted upon it by the sleeve edge in the shifting action. In returning the disk or wheel to operative position it is only necessary to shift it back until the dog or pawl leaves the sleeve and is urged by its spring into contact with the shaft, because if the dog or pawl does not at once strike into a groove 13, the rotation of the shaft will quickly bring it over the next groove in advance which it will enter automaticallyunder the spring pressure, thus effecting the clutch engagement again between disk or wheel and shaft. i

The thread from each spool passes around being here 7 of said dog upon said sleeve, ,a spring over the usual take up rods 19, 20, and to a needle upon the needle bar 1. The disks or wheels 11 may each be'provided with thread retaining flanges 21, and their peripheries may have emery or other frictional surfao ing, as at 22, according to the requirements of the work and the character of the thread material employed.

Variations maybe made within the scope of the invention and parts thereof used without others.

Having described our, invention we declare that .what ,we claim. is:

1. A tllifeild tension, device for embroideringmachines, a shaft over which said device is axially movable, and means operative in the axial movement of saiddevice in. opposite directions for engaging and disengaging said deviceand shaft.

2., A,thread tension device for einbroi der ing, aehines comprising a revoluble shaft havinga groove, a disk or wheel axially movable on saidshaft, adogor pawl on said disk ,or wheel adapted to enter said groove to clutch said disk or wheel and shaft together, and ,means forreleasing said dog or pawl fromsaidgroove in an axial movement of said disk or wheel torelease the clutch engagement.

3. ,Ai thread tension device for embroidering machines comprising a revolnble. shaft having a groove, a sleeve supportedin fixed relationv to ,and surrounding said. shaft, a disk or wheelmovable both revolubly and axially upon said sleeve, a spring pressed pivotal dog orpawl mounted uponsaid disk or wheel, said dog or pawl lyingupon said sleeve to hold the disleor wheelfr-ee from said shaft when shifted in one direction on said sleeve. and said olog or pawl being capable of enteringsaid groove to clutch said disk or wheel and shaft together when said disk;or wheel ,is shiftedin the other direction,

4. A. thread tension device for embroidering machines comprising a revoluble shaft havinga number of parallel, longitudinal grooves, a sleeve supported in fixed relation to and surrounding said shaft, a disk or wheelmovable botlrrevolubly and axially pressed dog or pawl mounted upon said disk or wheel, said dog or pawl lyingupon said sleeve to hold the ,disk or wheel freefrom said shaft when shiftedin one direction onsaid sleeve, and said dog or, pawl being capable of entering oneof said grooves to clutch said disk or wheel and shaft; together, when said disk or wheel is shifted in the other direction.

5. A ithread tension device for embroideringvmachines comprising a revoluble shaft having a longitudinal groove, a number of sleeves, spaced apart and supported in fixed relationto and surrounding said shaft, a disk or wheel movable both revolubly and alxially upon each sleeve, a spring pressed wheel, each dog or pawl lying upon the sleeve for its disk or wheel to hold the latter free from said shaft when shifted in one direction thereon, and each dog or pawl being capable of entering said groove to clutch the disk or wheel carrying it to said shaft when said disk or wheel is shifted in the other direction.

6. A thread tension device for embroidering machines compris ng a revoluble shaft having a longitudinal groove, a number of sleeves, spaced apart and supported in fixed relation to and surrounding said disk or wheel movable both revolubly and axially upon each sleeve, a spring pressed or pawl mounted upon each disk or shaft, a v

dog or pawl mounted upon each disk or wheel and engaging with said groove when the disk or wheel carrying it is shifted in one direction to clutch said disk or wheel and shaft together, and each dog or paw being cammed on to the sleeveupon which its disk or wheel is mounted when said disk or wheel is shifted in the opposite direction to release said clutch engagement; Signed at the borough of- Manhattan in the city, county and State of New York this 15th day of June, A. D. 1914. I

WILLIAM ALBERT WHITE. EUGENE W. KELLER.

Witnesses:

F. W. BARKER,

HARRY J. NEUSGHAFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of I'atentsr Washington, D. O. 

